This weeks reading talked about effective
teaching of reading. This was done by discussing teaching strategies like
shared (or modelled) reading, guided reading and independent reading.
I initially found the ideas of shared
reading and guided reading to be confusing after reading about them in chapter
8. The examples given in chapter 10 made it much clearer that shared reading is
a strategy that can be used to teach the whole class about a particular reading
technique. Shared reading is lead by the teacher. Guided reading is the part
that confused me a first because I thought it was the same as shared reading,
but involved a smaller group. I now realise the smaller group allows the teacher
to work closer with the students. The idea that the teacher guides students
through the reading of a challenging book by helping them know what reading skills
they should use makes more sense.
Shared and guided reading sessions are good
ways to teach students the knowledge and skills they will need to be successful
and independent readers.
I also initially found the concepts of shared reading and guided reading to be very similar. I thought that the use of both shared reading and guided reading would be valuable within a classroom. It would be important to give students the guidance to read more challenging books in small groups as I think it would allow for them to feel more comfortable and less embarrassed if they are struggling. I think if reading was simply done through shared reading and kids that were not confident were being exposed to the rest of the classroom without any safety net that many children may be turned off of reading.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of these comments. I think the key word here is 'scaffolding'. Guided reading is really about teaching students how to orient themselves to different types of text, and teaching students reading strategies. Shared reading is, in my opinion, something that is commonly done within classrooms; however to me there seems to be a real lack of guided reading. I certainly don't ever recall experiencing it and perhaps that is why I found these two terms indistinguishable at first. I think guided reading is especially important in younger readers as this is likely to prevent reading difficulties later in a student's education, and should be made more prevalent in English lessons.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comments made about shared reading being common in classes and scaffolding being a large part of the guided reading.
ReplyDeleteIt's my understanding that a key difference between shared and guided reading is that guided reading is more tailored to individual students. It also allows the teacher to have a clearer understanding of the skills and needs of students.
I believe that in a shared reading session the benefits are more about peer support and the social aspects of reading which makes reading enjoyable.